The history of Mercedes-Benz and interesting facts

The history of Mercedes, one of the most popular and large automotive companies, is full of interesting facts. It is very rich and begins from the end of the XIX century. Well, it's worth telling briefly about the most interesting moments and telling how the brand appeared, which is today synonymous with the words "taste", "style" and "luxury."

How it all began

The history of the creation of "Mercedes-Benz" is full of many interesting facts. And one certainly knows the majority of motorists. And it consists that the brand has arisen because of merge of two marks. The first was called "Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft", and the second - just "Benz". In 1926 a single firm was formed. The concern became known as "Daimler-Benz".

It all began with the appearance in 1886 of a three-wheeled self-propelled vehicle equipped with a gasoline engine. Its creator was Karl Benz. He received a patent for the invention and started mass production. In 1891 he created a 4-wheeled car. In parallel, Daimler produces the model "Mercedes-35PS", which also becomes popular. But Karl Benz decides to keep up and together with his team represents a racing car, which was called "Blitzen Benz". His engine produced as much as 200 horsepower. Not surprisingly, the car became the most famous racing model at that time. But how did the two strongest rivals come together?

Further developments

After 1926, the history of the Mercedes brand began to develop in a new way. There was a merger, and the new concern was able to effectively use the knowledge, experience and skills of designers of both firms. And the leader was a man named Ferdinand Porsche. Thanks to him, the production program was completely updated. As a basis for future cars, he took the latest models of Daimler. And the first development was the so-called compressor series. Machines with 6-cylinder engines with a volume of 6240 cm ³ could not but become popular. This car was even given the name of a "death trap". And all thanks to the huge (at the time) power and speed. After all, the models could accelerate to 145 km / h.

But in 1928 Ferdinand left the company. He was replaced by Hans Niebel. Under his leadership, machines with a 6-cylinder 3.7-liter engine were invented, after which engines were developed and with 8 cylinders. Their volume was already 4.9 liters.

And in 1930 the history of "Mercedes" got a new round. After all, in the light came the model, which is now legendary! And this is the "Big Mercedes", equipped with an 8-cylinder engine for 200 hp, the volume of which was 7655 cm ³ . This model had an independent suspension and a supercharger. So success was evident.

Logo and title

This is also quite an interesting and important topic, which must be noted with attention, talking about the concern Mercedes. The history of the title is simple and straightforward. Mercedes-Benz - that's how its full version sounds. Mercedes is the daughter of one of the founders of the concern. Actually, before the merger under this name cars were produced. And Benz is the surname of the second founder, Carla. Here is a "Mercedes" history of the name.

As for the emblem, everything is a little different. There's a more interesting story. "Mercedes-Benz" is known for its three-beam star. How did it come about? There are several versions. The first says that each ray is a symbol of air, water and earth. After all, the companies produced not only cars, but also engines for balloons and motor boats. That is, the emblem as it were explained that the producers have succeeded almost everywhere, in all spheres.

The second version is more romantic. Allegedly the founders of the company, which were Wilhelm Maybach, Gottlieb Daimler and Emil Ellinek, could not think of a logo. Everyone had their own proposals, but they could not come to a compromise. And at one point they began to swear, and it almost came to a fight. The daughter of one of the founders did not like this, and she said that it's time to end the dispute, and cross the canes as a reconciliation. They did it. And suddenly everyone noticed that the picture looks very good. And the famous three-beam star was born. Very interesting legend about the badge "Mercedes". The history of the brand, by the way, does not have an unambiguous hypothesis, which version is correct. This is exactly what no one will know.

Military years

The history of "Mercedes" in the 1940s developed a little differently. The company has not stopped producing vehicles, but on the contrary, experts have started to produce, in addition to passenger models, also trucks. And everything was fine until September 1944. Then 2-week air bombardment, which was conducted by the Anglo-American Air Force, destroyed the concern almost completely. In the place where the plant was, only ruins remained.

The main shop, which was based in Stuttgart, was destroyed by 70 percent. And the body and locomotive shops, which were in Sindelfingen, suffered even more. They destroyed 85% of everything there. What to say about the truck shop, located in Gaggenau: from him and did not have anything left. It was destroyed, as well as a factory for the production of diesel engines. The least affected factory was Benz und Cie (Mannheim): it was destroyed by 20%. The results were disappointing. The Board of Directors announced that the Daimler-Benz concern physically no longer exists. That's how the history of the Mercedes turned.

After the war

But this did not end there. The history of Mercedes cars began to develop in a new way. The first thing was to restore all the destroyed factories. This took some time, namely two years. And production was restored only in the early summer of 1946. That's just for the design of new models there was nothing: no good technical base, or finance. So they began to act, as they say, in the budgetary channel. The first model, released after the war, was a sedan, known as the W136 - it's 38 horsepower, a subcompact. A new story has begun with her.

In 1949, they carried out a major modernization. The engine was improved (power was 52 hp), began to produce not only sedans, but also convertibles, as well as station wagons. Even versions with diesel engines have appeared.

And by the beginning of the 1950s, the launch of a new, modern generation was planned, but this required a good production base. Because the planned had to be postponed and continue to produce a few obsolete cars. But the history of the company "Mercedes" would not be so interesting, do not worry the concern so many difficulties. Still, in 1951 there was a novelty with an 80-strong 6-cylinder unit.

1940-50s were not easy for producers. But in nine years I managed to create a good, solid foundation. And thanks to this, the company subsequently became the leading concern for the production of machines throughout Western Europe.

What happened next?

There is much more to be said about Mercedes. All models, whose history is very interesting, left a definite mark on the company's technical progress. A special attention should be paid to the so-called Adenauers. Flagship models that were assembled by hand. And even the outdated design did not make them less popular.

W186 (a luxurious limousine for those times) was presented to the attention of the public in 1951, in November. Its features were a classic layout, a 6-cylinder 3-liter engine and a top camshaft. This model was produced both in a sedan car, and in the form of a limousine. This car has become incredibly popular among celebrities, politicians and businessmen. And why the Adenauers? Because this car is very fond of Konrad Adenauer, the first chancellor of Germany. By the way, the car was completed with radio, telephone and other small things that the owner only wanted to see. The interior was made individual, by the order of buyers. It was a very popular Mercedes.

The history of the model says that the car was constantly modernized (after all, we collected it manually, making the changes was much easier). And in the end the car turned into a model called W186 300b. More precisely, the so-called new series. With front pegs, brake drums and other changes. And in the mid-fifties, fuel injection appeared, one of the most ambitious inventions of that time. It was installed on the model W188 300Sc.

Sports models

Concern Mercedes-Benz, even in the 50 years was engaged in the production of not only cars, but also racing. The cars of that time, like the modern cars of the XXI century, were famous for their aerodynamic bodywork. Especially popular was the model W196. It was on it that the racer from Argentina named Juan-Manuel Fangio won in the championships of "Formula 1" in 1954 and 1955. The distinctive features of the machine were desmodromous valve drive, as well as fuel injection.

In 1952, the light came out the model W 194, which became famous. This is the forerunner of the famous SLR. She also participated in many races. Her body is made of a tubular frame, which experts have covered with aluminum light sheets. Also, the car was distinguished by the doors opening upwards (the same "gull wings") and the shape of the cabin.

In 1953, they created a road version of this model. Thus W198 was born. Due to its characteristics and futuristic features, the car has become very popular, especially among the elite of the United States. The 215-horsepower engine, a top speed of 250 km / h and an interesting appearance could not leave anyone indifferent. Although initially the power was only 115 hp. However, modernization did its job.

70th years

In the fifties the brand was able, that is called, to get on its feet. In the early sixties it gained popularity, and then it became famous all over the world. In the 70 years, the brand came to a new level. The leaders of the concern adopted a new classification system. Now the prefix W has ceased to be unique. There were roadsters (R), coupe (C), universals (S) and models with a long base (V). Also began to appear some styling standards.

And the first model of the seventies was the car SL R107. He was released in the light of 18 years, until 1989. Machines were equipped with both 6- and 8-cylinder engines. Basically, of course, V8 was popular. In America, these machines snapped like hot pies. And the version 560SL in Europe was not for sale.

The history of the "Mercedes" S-class began around the same years. In 1972, the 108th model replaced the W116 - a representative of the S-Class with the world's first anti-lock system and hydropneumatic suspension. And of course, another innovation is the automatic transmission 3-band. Then came the flagship, which became very popular - 450SEL. It was equipped with a V8-engine for 6.9 liters of volume.

In 1973, the concern collapsed a new test - the oil crisis. Because of him, sales of Mercedes have fallen dramatically. However, due to the W114 / W115 models, which were in demand even then, the concern did not go bankrupt. And then came the budget and legendary W123. One of the most budget, strong and reliable cars "Mercedes". The history of the creation says that this car is one of the best among all that Mercedes produced. And indeed it is. 123-s still can give odds to some modern novelties of other manufacturers.

The end of XX century

The 80's and 90's also brought a lot of popular models "Mercedes". The history of creation, like the modern reality, shows that many cars produced in those days are popular now. Take, for example, the famous "five-hundredth" in the body of the W124 or body W201. These cars and to this day are a dream of some connoisseurs of old German cars.

But it's worth returning to history. In the 80 years, the light came out models W126, V126, V126 Pullman (limousine) and C126. All of the above cars were produced before 1991.

In 1982, the premiere of the W201 190 sedan took place. Compact, attractive, stylish, with a comfortable and comfortable interior - it quickly became popular. The range of engines, by the way, was also very wide (from 1.8 to 2.6 liters, the power varied from 75 to 185 horsepower). In just 11 years, about 1,800,000 cars were produced. It was an incredible indicator.

In the beginning of the 90s Geländewagen novelties were released. They became known as the model 463 and 461. Also premiered was the R129 SL. This car came out in the light and until 2001. In 1991 there was a novelty of the S-class - W140. The machine was very large. And it was she who introduced the brand into the computer era. And this model was the first, which installed the engine V12. In general, the 1990s were very progressive.

Modernity

Nowadays the concern Mercedes-Benz produces simply unreal a huge number of different cars. The history of "Mercedes-Benz" continues to be written. There are A-class - small and compact machines. G-class - large and powerful off-road vehicles. E and S-classes - reliable, presentable, expensive machines. Minivans, trucks, tractors, cabriolets, supercars - which is just not in the range of the largest German manufacturer. And many models are great, for example, the Brabus Rocket 900. The magnificent design from the best tuning studio of the Brabus world, the 900-strong engine, the top speed of 350 km / h are just a few of its features.

And the GT S AMG with a 4-liter 510-horsepower motor? Its cost is about 135 000 euros. Very popular now is the Mercedes S65 AMG (W222). He has a 5.5-liter 585-hp engine under the hood. And one more feature is the 4MATIC system. True, now it can be found on many "Mercedes".

Demand SL roadsters. Budget CLA (if the cost of 2 million rubles can be called such) find their customers. The peculiarity of Mercedes cars is that each of them is able to please almost everyone. Some people like the S-class, others - models from the series C. But the point is that the developers of the Stuttgart concern produce such machines that conquer the hearts of all. It's not for nothing that Mercedes-Benz takes the second place in terms of popularity, quality and reliability among all the manufacturing companies in the world. On the first - "Toyota". But, most likely, because in Asian countries simply the population is larger, that's why such a coefficient.